DE 198 19 265 C1 describes a method for the parameterizing of an integrated circuit arrangement and an integrated circuit arrangement therefor. The concept is based on an integrated circuit arrangement that has components that have fixed connections to terminals or contacts. The parameters for the circuit arrangement can be defined in advance using the parameterization operation. The parameters are provided to a supply voltage terminal of the circuit arrangement. To this end, the actual parameter data is modulated onto the supply voltage. To detect the parameter data, a comparator connected downstream to the supply voltage terminal tests the applied supply voltage in order to determine whether this voltage exceeds a threshold value. The threshold value level is in this case greater than the normally required supply voltage of the integrated circuit arrangement.
In addition, the integrated circuit arrangement of DE 198 19 265 C1 includes, according to one embodiment, a Hall sensor that is used to detect a magnetic field that influences the integrated circuit arrangement. The detected field information obtained by the sensor is output via an analog output terminal.
It is known to provide housings for, among other things, integrated circuit components that have a great number of so-called pins located at the terminals. It is known that a freely programmable digital processor and other components can be contained in a housing. Usually, two terminals of the housing are thus used to connect supply voltage and a base voltage, and two other terminals are used to connect a ground connection or zero voltage and a supply voltage, as are many other terminals which are used for input and output of data.
Monolithic sensors, for example, in the form of a Hall sensor, wherein two or three terminals are provided in the housing, have been constructed only with analog design. To the extent such devices use digital signal processing components, such sensors employ hardwired digital signal processing components having a defined external interface and use fixed protocols. In the case of two terminals, a supply voltage is connected to one of terminal, while the base or earth voltage is connected to the opposite terminal. In the case of three terminals, a third terminal is provided specifically for the input and output of data. With this type of monolithic sensor, other functions, for example, adjustment or compensation for external interference conditions such as temperature influences, are provided in the housing using a predefined, wired connection. Adjustment or compensation variables can be modified using predetermined algorithms supplied via the wired connection and stored, for example, in registers or an EEPROM.
A disadvantage of such monolithic sensors deployed in this type of housing having two or three terminals is that these sensors cannot be adapted in a flexible manner to new interface standards and to new protocols. In particular, no new algorithms can be tested and implemented for the purposes of digital signal processing and/or for the purposes of an adjustment or a compensation for external interferences.